Manufacturing fastest growing part of UK economy for first time since 1870s

Generali

julieq wrote: »

I'm a little bit dubious about any strength in the manufacturing sector anyway. I think it's stop start at the moment, but you sense a little more confidence than maybe 6 weeks ago. It's still a fair way back from pre recession though, that is a big caveat, we're seeing growth but from low levels.

The first bit of growth is always the easiest after a recession as you're just using up spare capacity. It's when companies actually have to invest more money in the business that it gets a bit more difficult. Then we'll see how the British (and indeed World's) economy is doing.

vivatifosi

Generali wrote: »

The first bit of growth is always the easiest after a recession as you're just using up spare capacity.

Not just that, you're picking up business from your newly bust competitors.

It'll be interesting to see what happens when manufacturing has used its capacity and starts to go back to the banks for loans to expand. Unless of course firms invest counter-cyclically, I've seen some pretty shrewd moves made this way as now is an excellent time to negotiate deals for plant and machinery.

macaque_2

I'm not impressed and the following says it all.

Yet, Britain continues to slide down the league table of manufacturing nations. The country fell to ninth place this year, behind China, the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Brazil and South Korea in terms of value of goods.

My concerns are as follows:

1. Too many of our manfacturing statistics rely on the wrong type of sectors such as gas (coming through a pipeline from Europe), water, north sea oil (not sustainable), electricity etc. Whilst necessary, these don't help the balance of payments and in many cases don't have to be competetive.
2. Too much of UK manufacturing is reliant of government contracts. aero space, weapons, infrastructure projects.
3. To many UK companies are foreign owned. These companies are often fiercely loyal to their domestic manufacturers. What percentage of Rolls Royce parts are scourced from Germany compared to 20 years ago? Foreign owners are also far more willing to close down UK operations at the first sign of problems (see British steel).

As a country, the UK is much better at 'self hating' than it is at being 'self critical'.

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

It'll be interesting to see what happens when manufacturing has used its capacity and starts to go back to the banks for loans to expand. Unless of course firms invest counter-cyclically, I've seen some pretty shrewd moves made this way as now is an excellent time to negotiate deals for plant and machinery.

Thorntons did very well in the last recession by doing just that. They expanded massively.

vivatifosi

I've just been reading the economic news feeds for tomorrow and there's a lot of thinking that the pound is going to fall due to no growth and interest rate hold. I know people have been saying it for a while, but it is in a lot of the commentaries for tomorrow. Oh happy days, good news for exports, more expensive petrol for us...

Generali

vivatifosi wrote: »

I've just been reading the economic news feeds for tomorrow and there's a lot of thinking that the pound is going to fall due to no growth and interest rate hold. I know people have been saying it for a while, but it is in a lot of the commentaries for tomorrow. Oh happy days, good news for exports, more expensive petrol for us...

Better to have a job and be able to afford more expensive petrol than not have one and not be able to buy cheap petrol!

globalds

Not sure about manufacturing being the horse to pull us out the hole.

Most of the efficiencies gained in the last 10 years have been at the price of conditions , wages , longevity and permanence.

If the shoe gets anywhere near the other foot I think workforces will start asking for some return on the sacrifices.

shortchanged_2

Manufacturing fastest growing part of UK economy for first time since 1870s.

This seems to contradict the official figures that are coming out at the moment which seem to indicate that UK manufacturing growth is slowing right down.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13989807

JWF

FWIW, the place I work at was forecasting massive growth earlier this year, but now the forecast is for much more modest growth after a slack period. Partly this is due to the political situation in the Middle East but it is really an effect from the whole of the export markets we serve.

mbga9pgf

kabayiri wrote: »

I confess I am puzzled by this. The same must be true of Wall Street yeah?

The question then begs, the key people behind Google ; Amazon ; Facebook ; Apple resurgence et al, why didn't they choose Wall St instead ?

There must be something else to factor into the equation, or perhaps the scientists and engineers in the US are just greater risk takers ?

I dont see a great deal of risk taking on Dragon's den if im honest.

A !!!!!! salary scale and being treated like a car mechanic rather than like a professional similar to a doctor or a judge, like you do in Germany will be the reason why.